Infants and toddlers are at the highest risk. One reason is that children explore by touch and taste. If they see it, they want to pick it up and put it in their mouth to see what it is. Their bodies are also developing, so they have a higher metabolism.
Fatal poisonings are more common in children under the age of 1 but the peak time for non-fatal poisonings is between the ages of 1 and 4. The danger is particularly high for toddlers - at around the age of 2, when young children become more mobile and able to get hold of poisons.
Children are more vulnerable to the ingestion of environmental toxins than adults for a variety of reasons, including differences in size, behaviors, diet, and even where they spend their day. Children breathe more air, drink more water, and eat more food per kilogram of body weight than adults.
Opioids Are Leading Cause of Child Poisoning Deaths, Study Finds.
Children younger than five years are at an increased risk for foodborne illness and related health complications because their immune systems are still developing. Young children with developing immune systems cannot fight off infections as well as adults.
This is because their bodies are rapidly developing and more susceptible to taking in lead if exposed. Young children also tend to put their hands or other objects into their mouths.
Children younger than 5 years. People whose immune systems are weakened due to illness or medical treatment. Pregnant women.
Globally, infectious diseases, including pneumonia, diarrhoea and malaria, remain a leading cause of under-five deaths, along with preterm birth and intrapartum-related complications. The global under-five mortality rate declined by 59 per cent, from 93 deaths per 1,000 live births in 1990 to 38 in 2021.
Food poisoning is usually caused by bacteria that have formed toxins in food. This makes it unsafe to eat. Food poisoning is commonly associated with raw eggs, raw or undercooked meat, raw vegetables, unwashed fruits, raw seafood, and unpasteurized (raw) milk. Dirty or unclean water can also cause food poisoning.
Globally, infectious diseases, including acute respiratory infections, diarrhoea and malaria, along with pre-term birth complications, birth asphyxia and trauma and congenital anomalies remain the leading causes of death for children under 5.
Age; health; and physical, mental, emotional, and social development are factors that may increase a child's vulnerability to maltreatment.
Children are more vulnerable than adults to environmental risks: Children are constantly growing. They breathe more air, consume more food, and drink more water than adults do, in proportion to their weight. Children's systems are still developing.
Problem: Telephone contact with a poison control center may determine that accidental poison ingestion may not pose a risk of developing adverse clinical effect. Over 50% of reported human poisonings occur in children less than 6 years old.
Fatal drowning is the leading cause of death for children 1-4 and the second leading cause of unintentional injury death for children 5-14, behind motor vehicle crashes.
In 2015–17, the leading causes of child deaths were injuries (33%), cancer (19%) and diseases of the nervous system (10%)—rates of 3.5, 2.1 and 1.0 per 100,000 children, respectively. Children aged 1–4 had the highest rates of death due to injury and diseases of the nervous system (Figure 3).
Injuries (including road traffic injuries and drowning) are the leading causes of death among older children and young adolescents. In fact, injuries rank among the top causes of death and lifelong disability among those aged 5–14 years.
In adults, opioid overdoses were the most common cause of poisoning, followed by sedatives, sleeping medications and household cleaning supplies. Antidepressants are another common exposure among adults.
Drug poisonings account for 95% of poisoning deaths, more frequently referred to as drug overdoses.
The effects of poisoning range from short-term illness to brain damage, coma, and death. To prevent poisoning it is important to use and store products exactly as their labels say. Keep dangerous products where children can't get to them.
Children are at increased risk of exposure to arsenic because they eat more food, breathe more air and drink more water per pound of body weight than adults. Children are also more likely to put their hands in their mouths. Children can be exposed through: Ingestion of arsenic-contaminated well water.
Lead poisoning is very common. 1 in 40 children ages 1-5 years old have blood lead levels that are considered unsafe (over 5 µg/dL).